CALL TO ACTION for an effective
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Adversity is a call to action, and your freedom lies in taking the first step. Don't worry about the entire staircase, just take one step, and then tomorrow take another.
Kris Carr
Traditional professional development has been delivered for a long time in a "Sit & Get" or lecture format, where teachers often leave with no more information than they came in with. After some research, my perspective on professional development (PD) changed. I realized how much time teachers need to master a new strategy to implement it in our classrooms. In the post "Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability", Gulamhussein (2013) outlines that school leaders looking to provide meaningful learning experiences should transform the PD by following five key principles: duration, support, exposure, modeling, and specific content. As a leader in this Innovation Plan, I propose an alternative Professional Learning (PL). It will arm the team involved in the pilot with the necessary tools and skills to implement the ePortolios.
Why do we need to change the old practices?
Since I remember, all the pieces of training during my work experience have been passive. I usually sat and listened to the expert and received the tick reference manual at the end of the session. Innovative ideas were presented in a few training sessions, but follow-ups in the actual implementation still needed. Applying this new idea in the workplace is frustrating if there is a lack of support. In the end, we opted to abandon that new idea because, in some cases, we implemented it incorrectly, and we assumed that it didn't work.
As teachers, we have been asked to create a significant learning environment for our students to give them meaningful and deeper learning. The professional development should enhance and replicate the learning practices expected to utilize with our students.
We need more engaging and collaborative professional learning where we can explore our passions and imagination to create innovative ways to help students develop their full potential. Moreover, it is essential the coaching and follow-ups at the implementation time for the new strategies presented. This alternative professional learning (PL) aims to improve teacher training in a way that aligns with the goal of helping learners to grow.
1. Significant & Ongoing
It should include more than just a one-time workshop to allow for time to understand and implement new ideas through practice and coaching.
2. Support During Implementation
A coach or mentor is needed to provide support during the implementation stage.
3. Exposure
Participation should be engaging, collaborative, and active.
4. Modeling
Instead of telling educators what to do, show them how to do it. Show the new concepts so they can be understood and adopted into practice.
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5. Specific to Discipline
The PL should be specific to the teacher's level or subject.
Five Principles of Effective PL
Call to Action Presentation
What
By providing meaningful professional learning, teachers can explore creativity through choice, ownership, voice, and authenticity, allowing them a first-hand experience in which they can relate to the students and grant them a similar opportunity.
Effective PL Presentation: Download Here
How will we adopt the change?
This Alternative Professional Learning will
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Follow the five principles: duration, support, exposure, modeling, and specific content.
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Use clear, specific, and short presentations (such as the PowerPoint presentation provided).
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Include collaborative break-out sessions
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Engaging hands-on activities to enhance learning.
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Added support measures in the form of professional learning communities to ensure that assistance will continue beyond the initial session.
How "the call to action presentation" was created?
I combined Duarte and Sinek's techniques for this PowerPoint presentation, so I started designing a display that met my audience's needs and created my story. After the Why was clear, I began to outline the narrative.
I started pointing out the reality of our PDs (status quo), making my audience aware that we have a problem. I showed why it is crucial to change this practice and what we can lose if we continue doing it. I gave them the role of the hero and made them feel they had the power to change it. I will offer a solution with my Alternative PL proposal (what). Finally, I showed my audience how following Gulamhussein's five principles of an effective PL can make a difference. My next step was deciding on the software I wanted to use. Since I would use slides, audio, and video as a final product, I chose PowerPoint 360. Through the slides, I started spreading my ideas with images that illustrate my point, inspire the audience, and help them see the message. When the slides were ready, I started practicing out loud before I recorded. It took me longer than I expected because I wanted to sound myself but inspiring and clear. Finally, when satisfied, I recorded my presentation, exported it as a video, uploaded it to youtube, and added it to my e-Portfolio.
REFERENCES
Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the Teachers Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NBgyzzfGs6VrNjeJRDZLnipZPGeGMDF9?usp=sharing
TNTP. (2015). The Mirage: Confronting the Hard Truth About Our Quest for Teacher Development. Retrieved from http://tntp.org/publications/view/evaluation-and-development/the-mirage-confronting-the-truth-about-our-quest-for-teacher-development
Heather Hill. (2015). Review of The Mirage: Confronting the Hard Truth about Our Quest for Teacher Development. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved from http://www.greatlakescenter.org/docs/Think_Twice/TT-Hill-TNTP.pdf
Duarte, N. (2016,December 16). Duarte Design’s Five Rules for Presentations. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bEusrD8g-dM
Daniels, K. (November 6, 2013).Empowering the teacher technophobe. TEDxBurnsvilleED. Retrieve from
Sinek, S. (2018). How to Present Properly. Retrieve from
Part 1 https://youtu.be/j0fThT4PXyw
Part 2 https://youtu.be/zr10lAnchuk
Part 3 https://youtu.be/JQHTiFLabew
Part 4 https://youtu.be/n7dkXvlFDTM
Part 5 https://youtu.be/msvmLlAkOno
Duarte, N. (2010. November 11 ). Uncovers common structure of greatest communicators. TEDxEast. Retrieve from